What She Could Have Lost
by Sammy1014eva
Summary: First twilight fanfic. What if Bella chose Jacob before the end of eclipse? This shows the different obstacles they have to overcome together, friendships, bonds and much more. Please rate and review
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. All rights go to Stephanie Meyer.

Bella sat on her bed, tears falling down her cheeks faster than she could brush them away. She had come back from seeing Jacob after he was injured in the newborn battle. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss they had shared on the mountain top. The future that she saw for the two of them, she wanted it. So badly. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the insistant knocking on her door. Her dad, Charlie, opened the door and awkwardly stood in the doorway.

"Bells, do you need anything? I'm heading out to La Push in a minute to keep Billy company, didn't want to leave without knowing that you were okay."

Bella ran her hands through her hair and looked up at him. "I'm fine Ch-Dad. Edward should be over in a bit so I won't be completely alone. I might join you down in La Push at some point. Need to talk to Edward first though."

"Okay, go easy though. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I won't. I know what I want now. Everything's going to be good from now on."

Charlie walked out of the room, a curious expression on his face. About 40 seconds later, Bella heard the front door slam behind him. She turned to her window and jumped, not expecting Edward to be there so quickly.

"How are you, love?" Always the old fashioned one.

"I'm okay. Edward, we need to talk about something."

"Oh, I think I already know what you're going to say. Alice can't see your future anymore. Can I ask, why?"

"It wouldn't just be Jacob I'd be giving up if I turned. It would be Charlie, Renee, Billy, Angela, the pack and even...Mike and Jessica. I can't do it anymore. We're not going to work in the long run."

"I understand. I'm glad in a way, I never wanted you to turn."

Bella pulled the engagement ring off of her finger and handed it back to him.

"There's someone out there, just right for you. It's just not me."

She let the ring fall into his open plam and turned towards her closet to get a jacket. By the time she looked back, he was gone. Bella collapsed on her bed, lazily reaching for her cell that was on the bedside table. She dialled the number of the one person she knew would listen, no matter what.

"Hello? Bella?"

"Angela, hi. I know it's been a while since we got together but...did you wanna meet up tomorrow?2

"Sure, where abouts?"

"Um...how about first beach? Say, 12 o'clock?"

"Yep, great. I'll see you then. Bella, you've caught me at a busy time. I've got to go. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." Bella hung up the phone with a smile on her face. She would make up for being so obsessed with Edward over the last year.

She got up off of her bed and threw her jacket on. Once her car keys were in her hand, she carefully made her way down the stairs and out of the front door. When she got into her truck, she stroked the wheel lovingly, thinking about the guy who had fixed the truck up for her. The engine spluttered to life once she turned it on and she pushed her foot down on the accelerator as much as possible, eager to get to La Push.

The drive took her about 30 minutes, record time for her truck. She leapt out as soon as she came to a halt in the Blacks's driveway next to her dad's cruiser. She rushed to the door. Billy opened it before she could even knock, evidently having heard the rumble of her truck. He smiled and moved aside, knowing where she wanted to go. Calmly, she walked towards Jacob's door and took a deep breath before taking hold of the handle and opening the door. She went to greet him but...

He wasn't there.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jake?"

Bella walked into his room and looked around. She couldn't imagine that he had hidden in the closet as it was too small to fit a six foot werewolf who was covered in casts. She hadn't passed him on the way to his room and there was no way he had climbed out of the window. A slight rustle came from behind her and she turned quickly, still jumpy from being chased by Victoria and her deranged newborn army. Jake and Embry came into view, Embry holding Jake up as he hobbled back into the room. Bella backed herself up to the wall, trying to keep out of the way. Embry gave her a small smile before helping Jake lower himself onto the bed that was way too small for him.

"Right, showered, fed and watered. Do you need anything else before I go on patrol?" Even though he was making jokes about it, Bella could see that Embry cared for his friend.

Jake looked over to her and then looked back to Embry, as if he hadn't even registered that she was standing there.

"Nah, that's all. Just needed to get all the grime off me."

Embry chuckled slightly, as if an inside joke was being shared, and left the room. Bella stepped forward, only to be stopped by Jacob's harsh tone.

"What do you want Bella? Come to see me break even more?"

"What...no,no I...I wanted to...I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, well I don't want to talk to you. Go back to your leech and leave me the hell alone. I'm better off without you here breaking my heart over and over again."

"Um...I broke it off with him."

Jake blinked twice before replying. "What?"

"I broke the engagement off. I don't want that life anymore." Bella cleared her throat and looked down, fearful of his reaction.

When he didn't say anything, she slowly looked up through her lashes. He was...smiling? He had just told her that he was better off without her and now he was smiling?

"Jake..say something, please."

"Brilliant! Get over here." He was trying to shift on the bed to make room for her, but it wasn't working. She smiled at his frustrated look and took pity on him.

"Here, let me climb over so I'm on your good side."

"You're always on my good side Bells, I'm all good." Trust him to take it like that.

"Oh, I see that newborn didn't crush your ego as well as your bones. Thank God!"

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious. Climb on then."

Bella carefully manourvered herself so she could climb onto the bed withot hurting him. She ended up being pulled down by Jake, who had grabbed her wrist and somehow managed to put her off balance.

"What did you do that for? You could have hurt yourself!"

"Christ, you sound like my dad. 'Don't move Jacob. You'll only take longer to heal.'" It was scary about how accurate his impression of Billy was.

Bella was about to say something, but was interrupted by the raucous laughter of Billy and her dad. They sounded like they'd had too many beers, even though it was only early afternoon. Footsteps came down the hall, heading towards Jake's room. Bella quickly manourvered herself so she was sitting up, not wanting it to look too obvious that her and Jake were laying in bed together. Whilst doing so, she knocked Jake, sending a wave of pain through his body.

"Sorry, I'm so...so sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. I can take a bit of pain every now and again."

Charlie walked into the room, swaying into the doorway.

"What's going on in here? I heard laughter."

"Yeah...that tends to be what happens when Bella trips up over nothing." Thanks Jake.

"Ah, well that is funny. Behave." That would have been much more convincing if Charlie had looked like he was sober. He had this weird, concentration look on his face as he slowly made his way out of Jake's room.

Bella slid back down next to Jake's side. She didn't really know what to say, what to do.

Jake was leaning down towards her. She knew exactly what he was planning to do. She was panicking.

What was she going to do? Was this the right thing? Should she be kissing him so soon after breaking up with Edward?

During her mental questioning, Jake had gotten closer to her. His eyes were closed and their noses were now touching. Maybe it would be one of those heat of the moment things. Or maybe not.

"Jake?!"

Jake pulled back as if he had been burned. He opened his eyes and looked at her, right into her eyes, and froze. He stared at her, a confused look etched onto his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake looked down, scoffing.

"I thought something was going to happen. Don't worry about it."

Bella looked at him strangely for a few seconds before it clicked. "You thought you were going to imprint on me?"

Jacob looked directly at her again and sighed. "Yeah, I did. But it didn't happen. I don't know why I thought it would."

Bella grabbed Jake's face between her hands and drew his attention towards her.

"Imprint or not, we're gonna be together. We've come through so much together and we're so much stronger as a couple."

"What if I imprint? Sam didn't fight it, I don't know if I could."

Jake looked so lost that he nearly made her cry. She hadn't seen him like this since he had first become a werewolf. She was about to retaliate when light footsteps came down the hall. Looking at Jake curiously, he quickly answered her silent question.

"It's Paul. Probably coming to check up on me."

They both shifted slightly, getting comfortable. Paul opened the door with a weird look on his face. He saw Bella and his frown deepened. Jake and him seemed to be having a silent conversation, leaving Bella out of the loop. She looked suspiciously between the two muscular men. Paul then broke eye contact with Jacob and turned to her.

"Can I speak to you outside for a moment?" The normally cocky man looked shy...maybe even nervous.

"Sure...I'll see you in a minute Jake."

Bella climber off of the bed and followed Paul out of the room. They passed Billy in the living room, her father nowhere to be seen. Billy noticed her confusion and pointed towards the bathroom. It was strange how easily the men could read her expressions. Paul continued outside to the garage. Bella followed. She smiled as she remembered the good times in this place. The pizzas, warm sodas and laughter. Bella leaned against the edge of a worn sofa in the corner and looked at Paul, observing him. He was walking around the garage slowly, as if he were taking in the surroundings and committing them to memory. He brushed his finger over a layer of dust and then quickly wiped it on his black cut offs. He turned to Bella, looking sheepish.

"I...wanted to...to...ask you something."

"Go for it Paul. Although you've never bothered to really talk to me before. Just called me a leech lover and glared at me all the time. Why would you suddenly want to ask me something?"

"Because I need help. I've seen what Jake thinks about you, how he feels about you. I want that. I was wondering if you would help teach me how to treat girls properly..." Paul looked down at the floor, as if he was afraid of her reaction.

Bella brought her hands to her mouth, trying not to coo at Paul like he was a little puppy mastering a cute trick. He looked so adorable, something she never thought Paul would be described as. Then again, she had never seen this insecurity on him before.

"Of course I'll help you. What sort of thing were you thinking of?"

"Well...I've only really...slept with girls...maybe you could help me with dating advice. You know, dinner, movies and actually keeping a girl for longer than a month." He chuckled awkwardly at that.

"Er, sure. I don't have much dating experience but I know a bit about different kinds of dates. Do you wanna start now quickly?"

"No, no. I mean, I've got patrol in five minutes. Maybe tomorrow...say...12? I could pick you up and we could go to the beach or something."

"Okay, it's a date." Bella had a cheeky grin on her face.

Paul looked at her, like a deer trapped in headlights. He then walked out of the garage and Bella followed slowly. The cold air bit at her face and arms and she had forgotten to pick up a jacket. As she approached the front door, she saw Quil and Embry walk in. They both grinned at her and waved. She waved back before they went inside. She stood outside for a moment. She was glad that Jake had those two for friends They were funny, loyal and caring. Not that they'd ever admit that. Loud laughter came from the red house. Bella walked in and saw that Jake had been moved to the living room couch, with Quil and Embry crammed on beside him.

The boys were gaming, something that they hadn't done since they had turned into supernatural creatures. Their lives had been filled with discovering their new lifestyles and chasing a vampire army. From wht Bella could tell, Jake wasn't doing well in this game. He couldn't though, with only one hand to work the controller. Quil and Embry were nudging each other constantly in a battle to distract the other. None of the boys had noticed her, despite the fact that they were werewolves with heightened senses of smell and hearing. She cleared her throat and walked over to Jake, sitting down and nestling into his good side. He hooked his arm around her frail shoulders and continued to play. Bella just rolled her eyes and watched the TV mindlessly. Before long, shouts of disagreement and victory filled the room. These were soon accompanied by the reprimands of Billy and Charlie.

Jake put his controller down and turned to Bella.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Paul just wanted to talk to me about something." Her tone told him not to push it any further.

He leaned down towards her and she raised her head. Their lips met and they shared a kiss just like the one on the mountain. It was slow and passionate and Bella was angry with herself for not recognising her feelings for Jake sooner. Once the kiss had been broken, Jake pulled back and smiled dreamily at her.

"Are you free next Friday?"

"Yep, why?"

"I'm taking you out on a date. Doc said that I should be healed in a couple more days and then I've just got to wear these casts around Charlie and others for a few weeks so they don't get suspicious."

"Ha, okay. Where are we gonna go?"

"Leave that to me. Let me surprise you. Before you tell me that you don't like surprises, I don't care. Humour me."

"Fine, fine. Just tell me how to dress nearer the time."

Jake grinned and leaned back on the sofa, bringing her with him. He looked over to his pack brothers and found them looking at the couple weirdly.

"What?"

Quil was the first to speak up as Embry just looked down at his hands.

"We knew you two kissed once but we had no idea that you were together now. How could you keep that from us Jake? We are supposed to be brothers and you're keeping things from us. Disgraceful." His tone was joking and playful.

"I haven't seen you in a few days. Now you know."

"Don't get cheeky with me Mister!" Quil leaned in close and stage whispered in Jake's ear. "Once she leaves, I want all details." Quil was winking suggestively now.

Jake and Embry shook their heads at their friend and smacked him over the head. Quil clutched his head in mock pain and winked at Bella before getting up and walking into the kitchen. Bella laughed at their banter and childish actions. They had confirmed her thoughts.

She had made the right decision. This was the right path for her and she was going to be happy with Jake and the pack. A long and laughter filled life was already in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Bella woke slowly. She could hear Billy chuckling from where he sat with his breakfast in the corner of the room. Looking at him curiously, she struggled to find out what was so amusing. A slight shift next to her helped her to figure it out. She was sat in the middle of the couch, with her feet resting on the table. Looking down, she saw a russet arm flung over her stomach. Its owner was waking up because the hand grabbed her hip whilst she was nuzzled from the side. Bella got slightly worried as she slowly turned her head to find out who was snuggled up to her. It was Embry. He hadn't woken up like she thought he had. He had just shifted. She had to admit that he looked so cute when he was sleeping. He had a slight crease in his forehead and his lips were slightly parted as he breathed softly. He was a silent sleeper, unlike Jake who she knew was on her other side due to the racket that was coming from him.

She turned to look at him and kissed his nose. She looked at Billy and rolled her eyes. Billy smiled and rolled out of the room kicking Quil, who was leaning against the couch, on his way out. Quil woke up and looked around. Bella went to talk to him but he fell back to sleep. That's what these boys deserved for staying up most of the night gaming. Bella looked at Jake, scrutinising his features. He had always looked so carefree in his sleep, no sign of the amount of loss and hardship he has suffered in his sixteen years. His nose was of similar structure to…Embry's? That wasn't possible. Jake looked so much like his dad and he wasn't related to Embry. Embry didn't know his dad, poor soul. Unless…

Her train of thought was interrupted by Jake waking up. He moved his arm from where it was around her shoulders. He smiled at his girl then frowned at Embry's arm around Bella's stomach. Bella just shrugged her shoulders and gestured for Jake to move.

He reluctantly got up out of the human/werewolf puzzle and headed towards the kitchen, looking absolutely knackered. Bella got up, causing Embry to fall onto his side. Still, he stayed asleep. Quil had moved closer and he now had his arm around Embry's legs, snuggled up to him. Bella quickly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and snapped a photo. It would be useful when they teased her again. She walked out into the kitchen and saw Jake hobbling over to the table. Bella went over to the fridge and looked in to see what there was for her to work with. A pack of sausages, two dozen eggs, hash browns, a few rashers of bacon and tomatoes. The boys were lucky they burnt it all off quickly or they'd be looking at a nasty heart attack.

Ten minutes later, Quil and Embry came trudging into the kitchen having smelt the delicious breakfast. Bella chuckled to herself and sat down next to Jake, rubbing his arm. He seemed to be stronger today, he could move around the house easier.

"How about we all go to the beach today?" Jake said before stuffing two fried eggs into his mouth. Quil and Embry nodded in agreement, their mouths full as well. Bella looked at them before turning to Jake.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Her brow was furrowed, concern for him evident.

Jake smiled at her concern and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, ignoring the twinge of pain that accompanied the movement.

"I'm absolutely fine. The guys can help me down to the beach. I'll just lay back and watch these two idiots prat about."

The problem that Bella had found with the Black's as that they could be very good liars when they wanted to be. Even so, she didn't push Jake and let him decide whether or not he was up to it. Jake was really playing off his injuries, not showing just how bad they still were. He had done it before, and it had isolated him from the outside world for weeks. It had been when he was 10; he had fallen off of his bike and rolled down a hill straight into a large bolder. He ended up with three breaks in his left arm and a broken leg. Bruises had covered his body at the time and he had been devastated when his father had told him that he couldn't go to the Swan's house to see Bella who was down at the time. He wasn't going to miss out on any more time with her because he was injured.

"Okay. We'll go after we've all eaten. I'll call the rest of the pack down, make a day of it." Embry always seemed to be the most organised out of the trio. He had finished his food and was already getting up to call the pack. He confused Bella when he just walked out of the house without using the phone to call everyone.

"It's easier to just howl to get the pack's attention. They can tell the difference between an emergency howl and a social one." Jake could read her like a book and answered her before she'd even asked the question. A minute later, they heard Embry's howl.

"Hey, the weather's good today. A swim seems like a good idea. Why don't you go and get into shorts or something? You'll roast in that around the pack." Jake leant back and smiled sweetly at her. Bella nodded and got up, giving him a kiss on the lips on her way out. He tried to deepen it by putting his hand on the back of her head but she pulled away smirking.

"Later." She whispered to him, winking. Walking out of the room, she swayed her hips in a teasing manner knowing that he was watching. Being around Jake made her feel confident, something she'd never felt around Edward. His confidence was rubbing off on her.

Twenty minutes later, they were all down at the beach. Jake was propped up on their driftwood spot. He was laughing as he watched the guys tackle each other in the water. Bella was sat next to him, snuggled into his good side. She had changed into shorts that came down to her mid-thigh and a strappy vest top. Jake had the pleasure of rubbing sun lotion on her back earlier. She burnt too easily and was sure that her looking like a tomato all the time would not be attractive. She looked around the beach and spotted Leah, sitting off from the rest of them. She looked absolutely stunning in her two piece bikini, lounging in the sand. Her golden skin glowed in the sun that La Push rarely saw. Just seeing her like that made Bella feel extremely self-conscious. She huddled further into Jake's side, making sure to keep looking down. Jake noticed her discomfort and smiled sympathetically.

"You're ten times as beautiful as she is."

"There must be much prettier girls on the rez. Ones who could give you so much more than I could. Why would you want to get stuck with a pale face?"

Jake felt a spark of anger fly through him and he somehow managed to flip them over so that she was under him whilst he supported himself on his arms.

"I've taken a lot of stick from everyone about you not being Quileute but I will not take it from you. I couldn't care less about the colour of your skin; it's you I'm interested in. Your personality…your sense of humour…your kind nature…" Every time he talked about what he liked about her he'd pause and kiss her cheeks or neck as a sign of affection. He was doing his best to convince her that he loved her for her.

The upset look on his face made her feel ashamed of herself. This amazing man loved her and here she was telling him that he could do better. She was absolutely mad. She pulled his face down to hers, kissing him several times on the lips whilst mumbling how sorry she was for everything. They were finally able to enjoy life and she wasn't going to let her insecurities ruin that.

They stayed like that for several minutes before they were rudely interrupted. Embry and Quil pulled Jake off of her and rolled him away, laughing their heads off. Paul and Seth grabbed Bella and started running towards the water. She was kicking and squirming about but it was no good, they were too strong. With a splash, she was dropped into the lukewarm water. Looking around, she saw Colin looking extremely embarrassed, having just had his shorts pulled down by someone. The guys thought it was funny to do that but they knew not to even attempt it with Bella. Poor Colin was already uncomfortable around her due to not really knowing her and only ever hearing about her being a "leech lover". Maybe he could get to know her whilst she was in La Push and with Jake now.

Bella felt arms wrap around her waist and she turned to see Paul smirking down at her with a mischievous look in his eyes. It was the first time she had seen him since their talk in the garage. They had arranged to meet this evening, after the pack had dinner with Emily. Paul picked her up and span around with her in his arms. Jared was doing the same with Kim and eventually the troublesome two let them go. They went flying into the same area of water together and giggled like little schoolgirls. For now, life was carefree. There were no vampire threats, no love triangle and no hatred.

Jake watched on as Bella messed around with the pack, his brothers. He realised that they had accepted her and that life would be a lot easier now. He couldn't wait to take her out on a date once he was better.

Please review and let me know what you think. Let me know if you want to see the "later" that Bella told Jake about ;) Sam xx


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